Jacob Rochefort is a sales associate and manager of the Providence office for Lila Delman Real Estate. He has 14 years of experience in sales in Southern California and Rhode Island. He recently represented the buyers of an elegant home at 163 Governor St., on the East Side of Providence. The house sold at $975,000, the full asking price. He spoke to the Providence Business News this week about the transaction.
PBN: When you are representing a buyer, who is interested in a unique property, how do you counsel them about how to approach an offer? In these higher-end sales, is it typical for an offer to be made at full asking price?
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ROCHEFORT: It does vary by property. These buyers have actually made an offer on a couple of properties on the East Side that they missed out on and they did go over in that case, over asking. They were very competitive buyers.
You look at the principle of real estate. You look at the size, which is square footage, you look at the condition and you look at the location. That’s where you decide. $975,000 for a five-bedroom house in a corner of College Hill. It was not a historical property, so it [will make] construction easier for them.
PBN: Can you describe what this house includes and why it’s unique?
ROCHEFORT: It has five fireplaces throughout the entire house. The front porch is a rounded front porch with all of the original decal molding. The top of the home, the perimeter of the roof and the porch, it’s almost a full circle, it’s beautiful. It takes time and effort to do. It’s definitely a focal point.
PBN: Were they attracted to the neighborhood first, or the house?
ROCHEFORT: They are going to modernize it inside. But they saw the potential there. They were looking in College Hill. They came up from Asheville, N.C. I showed them around, and really showed them the lifestyle that Providence has to offer. They wanted something with close proximity, where they wouldn’t need a car for shopping, for dinner.
PBN: How many comparable homes are there in Providence? At the higher end, is there much out there? Is there a lot of competition for what’s out there?
ROCHEFORT: Supply and demand is always the driving force for the market. Supply is low, even at the higher end. You have a lot of buyers out there who are looking for the same thing on the East Side. When it came on [the market], I got them in there right away. They walked through the property. They sat in the car, and the husband and wife started talking, and they said … this seems like the one.
PBN: How do you compare houses when looking at historical homes? Are there similar characteristics?
ROCHEFORT: A lot of homes that we’re selling, if they haven’t been recently renovated, in the last 10 years, and they are on the East Side, people can come through, it can have a bad kitchen, it can have a bad bathroom, and that won’t stop them. Nine out of 10 times, they’re going to be renovating it. You’re seeing more construction companies and architects on the East Side coming in with the buyers.
Mary MacDonald is a staff writer for the PBN. Contact her at macdonald@pbn.com.
